Faculty and Staff

Dr. Bagwell is a Professor in the Human Services Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver, following a 20-year career as a firefighter/paramedic.  Dr. Bagwell spent five years in New York City, one of which was spent working with a team providing psychological services to members of the New York Police Department following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He has presented locally and nationally on topics that include workplace violence, Critical Incident Stress Management, trauma, treating claustrophobic firefighters, and perception of threat and de-escalation of violence strategies for first responders, employers and mental health clinicians.  In addition to his membership on the university’s’ CARE Team since its inception,  Dr. Bagwell also coordinates MSU Denver’s Fire and Emergency Response Administration (FERA) degree program, and teaches Theory and Practice of Counseling, Small Group Dynamics, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Conflict Resolution and other Human Services courses.

Dr. Lynann “Annie” Butler is Department Chair and Professor in the Human Services and Counseling Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Dr. Butler earned a Ph.D. in Human Services and Counseling from Walden University, a master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Colorado at Denver, and a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from Colorado State University. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC) and a Licensed Addictions Counselor (LAC) in the State of Colorado. Dr. Butler founded Professional Counseling Services, Inc. in Denver in 2002, providing a six-week intervention program for students facing suspension from high schools in school districts in the Metro-Denver area. She has many years of clinical experience in the field, having provided mental health and addictions counseling to adults and adolescents in a variety of settings. She has shared her “wisdom, mistakes and humor” with students at MSU Denver since 2002. In 2012, she earned the Teaching Excellence Award from the Faculty Senate at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She traveled to Laos while on sabbatical in 2015 to research Hmong refugees and published the book Walking with Tigers. Annie is proud to call herself a Roadrunner.

Claire Critchlow is a Clinical Director and Category II Lecturer in the Human Services and Counseling Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. Claire earned a Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Missouri: Kansas City, a Master’s in Mental Health Counseling from Southeast Missouri State University, a Specialist in Education in Counselor Education and Supervision from Southeast Missouri State University, and is finishing up her PhD in Counselor Education and Supervision at University of Northern Colorado. Claire is a Licensed Professional Counselor in both Missouri and Colorado as well as a Nationally Certified Counselor. Claire has worked with clients at her private practice, specializing in working with the queer community, since 2017, though she also has clinical experience in community counseling agencies working with a wide rage of clients since 2013. Claire’s research interests include the LGBTQ+ population, humor, and rapport building within the classroom.

Dr. Tara Hammar is an Associate Professor in the Human Services and Counseling Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She completed her master’s degree in Marriage and Family Therapy at East Carolina University and her doctorate in Human Development at the University of Connecticut. Dr. Hammar teaches a variety of courses in the Department which include Introduction to Trauma-Informed Care, Internship, Pre-Field Seminar, Small Group Dynamics, and Family Systems. She leads the Trauma Studies committee in the Department and is a committed member of the Field Faculty team. Her current research interests include trauma-informed care and program evaluation.

Dr. Tricia Hudson-Matthew is an Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Addiction Studies in the Human Services Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. She has a bachelor’s degree in Human Services with a concentration in High Risk Youth from MSU Denver, a master’s degree in Community Counseling with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy from the University of Northern Colorado and a Doctorate in Counseling Education and Supervision from Argosy University. She is a certified play therapist and her current clinical work in private practice focuses on children aged five years+. She also works with substance abuse individuals and couples, assisting them in their relational journey. Her scholarly interests include ethics between therapist and clients, mental health and addictions. Dr. Hudson-Matthew is thrilled to be “living my life’s dream by assisting others in the process of transforming their lives.”  She joined MSU Denver in 2010 and loves to help students in their transformation process, as they pursue their life dreams. You’ll find her passionately teaching courses in the core requirements, concentrations and electives in the Human Service curriculum.

Jason Rose (he/him) is an Assistant Professor in the Human Services and Counseling Department at Metropolitan State University of Denver. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Music Theory/Composition from Whitman College, awarded in 2005, and a master’s degree in Clinical Mental Health Counseling, awarded in 2012 from Argosy University. Jason is currently a doctoral student in Counseling Education and Supervision at the University of Northern Colorado, a Licensed Professional Counselor, and Licensed Addiction Counselor in the state of Colorado. Jason’s clinical experience includes, but is not limited to, counseling youth and adults across detention facilities, community mental health and in-home settings, as well as working with clients presenting with a dual diagnosis across the lifespan. In regard to research interests, Jason is captivated with presentations of existential and/or death anxiety as well as the mounted psychological defensed towards terror management. Equally, Jason is fascinated with the intersections of morality, metacognition and the counseling relationship as well as the effects of substance use on the neuro and social development of emotional expression and individual emotional regulation capabilities. Finally, Jason, in a continuation of past research, works to explore the influence of substance use on social regulation and social cooperative emotional states, such as embarrassment, guilt, shame, and morality.

Dr. Shawn C. Worthy is a Professor in the Human Services Department at Metropolitan State University. He studied at the University of Illinois and Northern Illinois University, where he was awarded a masters and then doctorate in Clinical Psychology. He began his career as an instructor at Northern Illinois before working in many clinical settings for behavioral and therapeutic services.. He joined MSU Denver in 1995, receiving tenure in 2002. He served as Human Services Department Chair in 2005 and Interim Vice President of Student Services in 2006 and has also worked as the Director of Mentoring and Summer Bridge Programs with Student Services. He currently serves at the MSU Denver NCAA Faculty Athletic Representative, as well.

Dr. Worthy has done research and published work extensively about sports psychology on how all levels of skiers cope with fear. He is also involved with work to eliminate domestic violence relating to adolescents. He has researched, published and presented at many conferences and workshops striving to understand diversity as it pertains to engaging people of color. He has also worked as a clinician and psychotherapist at the Children’s Hospital of Denver and The Urban League of Denver.

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